10 Reasons Why Chrome Will Overtake Internet Explorer

News Analysis: Internet Explorer and now Firefox have lost some market share as Google's Chrome browser has gained more users. Whether or not this trend will continue is anyone's guess, but one thing is certain: If Internet Explorer loses its position of dominance, it will be due to the growth of Google's Chrome browser.

A recent report from Web analytics firm NetApplications has found that
Mozilla's Firefox browser has once again lost ground in the browser space.
Firefox's loss of 0.2 percent marks the third straight month where the
venerable browser has lost share at the hands of Google's Chrome browser, which
enjoyed a 0.4 percent growth on the month.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's
Internet Explorer still reigns supreme with a whopping 61 percent market
share, easily besting Mozilla's 24 percent and Google's 5 percent shares.

Comparing those figures might portend a daunting battle for Google and Mozilla
as they attempt to compete with Internet Explorer. But as NetApplications
reported, Microsoft's 61 percent is a record low for the company as its market
share continues to decline.

A key reason for that is the European Union's
recent enforcement of a rule that requires Microsoft to give European Windows
owners the opportunity to choose between several browsers upon boot-up, rather
than require them to use Internet Explorer out of the box. Although the program
just started, that ruling could have a profound effect on which browser will
lead the way going forward.

That leading browser might just be Google's Chrome. As mentioned, Google's
browser share continues to grow as the rest of the market declines. And
although the company has a long way to go before it can get close to Microsoft,
that growth could accelerate further into 2010. Chrome simply has the best
chance of beating Internet Explorer. Here's why:

1. The EU ruling

The European Union's ruling on browser choices can't be discounted. Now
that users have the option of picking the browser they want to use, it's highly
unlikely that the average user will pick any other browser besides Internet
Explorer or Google Chrome. That's due to one thing: notoriety. People know and
trust Google's Chrome browser. They also know Internet Explorer. The average
Web user might not know Opera, Safari or even Firefox. And that hurts those
browsers' chances of beating Microsoft.
2. It's Google

If any other company with just 5 percent market share was gaining some
ground on Internet Explorer, I wouldn't waste my time talking about it. But
it's Google that's gaining ground on Microsoft. Google is the same company that
walked into a search market and revolutionized it. It is also the company that
controls Web advertising. If any company can overcome Microsoft's Web efforts,
it's Google.

Chrome OS could be a key component in Google's battle for browser
dominance. If Chrome OS takes off the way the search giant hopes, netbook users
will opt against Windows and decide instead for Google's OS. But we can't
forget that Chrome OS will only be available to netbooks upon launch, which
means it probably won't have a major impact on market share. But if netbook
users are truly happy with Chrome OS, they will likely opt for Google's browser
on their desktops. Chrome OS could be Google's Trojan horse in the browser
space.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.